Chapter 37
GOLDENWYCH, PRESENT DAY
‘Hi, Sindy,’ said Gillian, when she opened the door twenty minutes later. ‘Thank you for coming at such short notice, especially in this weather.’
The rain that had been threatening all day had begun falling in earnest an hour earlier.
‘Caitlin said it was urgent and there was a problem,’ said Sindy, handing her wet puffa jacket to Gillian, who hung it on the coat stand.
The two women walked through the house to Caitlin and Rachel who were sitting at the table where there was now a bottle of white wine in an ice bucket and four glasses. The diary was beside it but the leaflets were tucked carefully inside.
‘Hi,’ said Caitlin, rising to hug Sindy. ‘Sorry to drag you out. Where’s Rosie?’
‘She’s with Mum, they’re practising their routine for your song, Caity, when you sing Katy Perry’s “Roar” as you’re about to return as Queen of France to England and save Lear.’
‘It’s street dance, isn’t it?’ said Rachel.
‘Mum’s got the moves,’ said Sindy.
Despite the superficial lightness of the tone, there was an uncomfortable edge to the conversation.
‘Wine?’ asked Gillian, holding up the bottle.
‘A small one, I’m driving,’ she replied.
‘Us too,’ said Caitlin, pointing to her and Rachel. Then she patted the seat beside her, welcoming Sindy into the fold with a warm smile.
Sindy perched on the edge and accepted the glass from Gillian.
Caitlin looked at her sisters, who both sat mute, sipping their wine.
‘I’ll start then,’ she said, and with no response from Gillian or Rachel, she turned to Sindy. ‘Gillian and Rachel would like to apologise for their behaviour.’
Sindy’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
‘Sindy, we’re sorry,’ said Gillian, her eyes downcast. ‘We’ve treated you appallingly and we were entirely in the wrong.’
‘Sorry,’ echoed Rachel. ‘I know there’s a very wide mean streak in my nature and no one, least of all you, deserved the grief I’ve directed at you for the past few years.’
‘Have you apologised to Caitlin?’ asked Sindy.
‘Yes,’ said Gillian, ‘we realise she was in the right. She’s been gracious enough to forgive us because she knows we’re a pair of nightmares. She’s lived with us for thirty-one years. We don’t have the right to ask the same from you because you were the innocent party in this situation.’
Sindy sipped her wine.
‘Thank you, your apologies mean a lot,’ she said after a few moments’ consideration. ‘It’s been very hurtful.’
To the surprise of everyone, Rachel gave a sob and hurried around the table to hug Sindy.
‘Sind, we’re so sorry,’ she said. ‘When Mum was dying, she made us promise to protect Dad and we thought she meant keeping it a secret he was your father. After the funeral, when Caitlin told you we knew you were our half-sister, we felt as though she had betrayed Mum’s final wishes. ’
‘But you didn’t have to be so cruel to her,’ Sindy said, disentangling herself from Rachel’s embrace and there was real anger in her voice. Rachel sat back down looking devastated. ‘To us both. Caitlin did what she thought was right for us all. Your behaviour was appalling.’
Gillian and Rachel hung their heads in shame, mumbling more apologies before picking up their wine glasses.
Silence bloomed.
Caitlin looked from one sister to another and was about to speak, to act as the peacemaker when Sindy said, ‘But what Caity didn’t know when she told me was that I already knew the truth; Mum and Miranda told me when Rosie was born.’
‘They did?’ asked Gillian in surprise.
‘Yes, your dad was insistent on providing financially for Rosie, for us both, which was why Miranda’s promise didn’t make sense to me,’ she said.
Caitlin, Gillian and Rachel exchanged a pained look, as though Sindy’s words had confirmed their realisation about their father’s illness and their mistake.
‘What a mess,’ said Gillian. ‘You must have despaired about our behaviour.’
‘I did,’ agreed Sindy, ‘but despite everything, I hoped one day we would be reconciled. Tell me though, why now?’
‘We’ve discovered something,’ admitted Caitlin. ‘When he was clearing out our old house, Lee found a diary belonging to Dad, which has given us distressing information.’
‘Which is?’ said Sindy and there was a clipped tension in her voice as though she was bracing herself.
‘We believe Dad has Alzheimer’s disease and this is the real reason he’s retired,’ said Gillian, a break in her voice. ‘For the same reason, we’re certain it’s why Dad announced King Lear – The Musical will be his final show for the Players and why he’s insisted we all be in it.’
‘But Caity said he told you it was because he wanted to heal the family rift,’ said Sindy.
‘To Dad, performing is the greatest source of happiness he can imagine. Perhaps he hoped the magic of the “biz” would mysteriously solve all our problems,’ said Gillian.
Caitlin stared at Sindy, her friend, who was also her half-sister, waiting for a response.
‘Who else knows about Larry?’ asked Sindy as she gently turned the pages of the diary.
‘Lee and George,’ said Caitlin. ‘Lee is going to suggest they talk to Dad and offer their support.’
‘I see,’ said Sindy. ‘And when the truth about Larry’s health is known, where will I fit in?’
‘We’d like you and Rosie to be with us and spend as much time with him as possible,’ said Gillian.
Caitlin sipped her wine, watching as Sindy absorbed the news. Her friend was a kind, caring woman, but, like all of them, she had an incandescent temper when roused.
‘Do you mean tell people he’s my father?’ Sindy queried.
‘Yes, and that you’re our sister,’ said Caitlin.
Sindy crossed her arms defensively. ‘Do you know the full story?’ she asked, and with reluctance, the three women shook their heads.
‘When she was dying, Mum told us you were our half-sister and begged us to protect Dad.’ Gillian’s voice was apologetic.
‘We thought she meant from the scandal of having another child but we wonder now if she’d guessed his behaviour was changing and he had early symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s. ’
‘No doubt you’ve been imagining there was a sordid affair and I was a guilty secret to be hidden away,’ said Sindy. She gave a derisive laugh. ‘You weren’t protecting Larry, you were ensuring you weren’t the centre of gossip.’
The flush on Rachel’s face was answer enough.
Caitlin waited, poised to leap into the breach and work as mediator if Sindy made a move to storm from the house, but instead, Sindy shook her head in mock despair.
‘You two,’ she pointed at Gillian and Rachel and gave a half-laugh as she said, ‘are awful, but in the spirit of our newly admitted sisterhood, I forgive you and I’ll tell you the whole story…’
A shiver ran down Caitlin’s spine.
‘You don’t have to,’ she interrupted.
‘Don’t worry, Caity, there was no scandal,’ said Sindy, leaning over to squeeze her hand in reassurance. She released Caitlin and ran her hand through her newly dyed blonde hair.
For the first time, Caitlin saw the striking resemblance between Sindy and Gillian. The two women shared the same natural dark auburn hair but Sindy had been colouring hers for years, blurring the lines between their similarity.
‘Back in the eighties, my mum, Ted, your – our – dad, your mum – Miranda, Suki, George, Barbara, Linus, Paul, Annie and a few others, were all friends. They loved amateur dramatics and, as they grew up, took over the ailing company that existed in Goldenwych, turning it into the Players.
‘They were gradually pairing up; Annie and Paul were the first to announce their engagement, then George had a fling with a girl from medical school and your dad and my mum had a summer romance. At the same time, your mum was going out with a bloke called Greg who lived in the village for a while. My mum and Larry separated, Miranda dumped Greg and your parents began dating. It was a whirlwind romance, they became engaged and Gilly was conceived. Unfortunately, Mum had also discovered she was pregnant with me.’
Caitlin looked at Gillian and Rachel who were white-faced.
‘Your – our – dad was in a tricky situation,’ Sindy continued.
‘My mum knew she didn’t love him and it was obvious Miranda and Larry were head-over-heels.
He insisted on taking financial responsibility but Mum decided to resolve the situation.
For months, her aunt, who ran a hotel in Pembrokeshire, had been asking her to go and stay.
Auntie Lorna and Mum had always been close, so Mum explained the situation and she was welcomed with open arms. The hotel was beside the sea and Mum said she had a wonderful time helping her aunt.
‘After I was born, Mum did her hairdressing training, she met Phil and, eighteen months later, they married. No one expected him to die of cancer when he was so young. Mum couldn’t bear to stay in Pembrokeshire and be reminded of him everywhere she looked and, as Gran was becoming weaker, we moved back to Goldenwych to be near her.
‘Miranda and Larry were delighted to see Mum and insisted on including us in family events, parties, the Players and village life in general as often as possible. However, there was one condition: my mum insisted we should keep the truth about the real relationship between us all a secret.’
‘Why?’ asked Rachel.
‘She thought the upheaval of losing Phil and moving house was enough for me to cope with, without suddenly being presented with a different father and three half-sisters,’ Sindy replied dryly and Rachel flushed. ‘At that point, I thought Phil was my biological father.’
‘When did she tell you?’ asked Gillian.
‘I was fifteen,’ said Sindy, ‘and your dad had cast me as Wendy in the Players’ version of Peter Pan. The part you wanted and deserved, Gilly. The part that caused the rift in our friendship, even though Larry didn’t realise it.’
Gillian gave an involuntary sob and Caitlin reached over to take her sister’s hand, but Gillian gently brushed her away, leaning forward and taking Sindy’s instead.